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Portland

Last month I had the opportunity to finally visit the Land of Ports aka PORTLANDIA.
(Do people from Portland hate it when non-portlanders call it that? ……oops.)

I was only there for 3 days but if we happen to share similar tastes then you, my friend, will have a wonderful time following my guide! I will be back in September of this year, so be ready for a “10 MORE THINGS TO DO IN PORTLAND” post.

LÉ FOOD ♥

1. GO TO THE FOOD CART PODS

The biggest difference I noticed was mobility.
In LA, food trucks may have a set of spots they go to each week but for the most part they are roaming around the city and going to a wide array of events throughout the year. If you’re craving a specific truck, your best bet is to follow them on twitter and hunt them down.

In Portland, the food carts – which are essentially food trailers, or one could even say, little food shacks – remain stationary. They stay parked in what are called food cart pods – empty lots where the carts congregate and tables, chairs, and sometimes even tents may be set up.

My favorite part is that the food is SO CHEAP. A $20 bill will get you quite a bit of food from many different vendors.

2. HAVE BRUNCH LIKE A TRUE PORTLANDIAN!

Gravy holds a very special place in my tummy. I wrote a blog post about it and even made a video – check it out HERE! But if you’re feeling to lazy to click on that link, I’ll give you a short recap:

The portions are HUGE; show up with a matching appetite. The biscuit-donut balls dubbed “frycakes” are a MUST, along with the biscuits and gravy – I mean, the place is called GRAVY. It is situated on Mississippi Street where you’ll find a bunch of adorable stores that you can walk to and try to sweat out your delicious food baby. Price range? Very reasonable. You can get food from $1.25 to $15 – such a STEAL.

3. GET AN ICE CREAM SCOOP @ SALT & STRAW

If this picture of my Lucky Charms ice cream isn’t making you drool, there might be something wrong with you….

Portland is known for their culinary scene but it’s not just their savory foods that are making a splash. Salt & Straw scoop shop is a new and edgy creamery that pushes the envelope with their outstanding mixes. With bold and creative flavors like Pots of Gold and Rainbow (a play on the Lucky Charms cereal), Salted Caramel Cupcake and Pear & Blue Cheese Ice Cream, it’s no surprise to see how popular they’ve gotten and why people are showing up in droves. When you get to the front of the line, the friendly workers are more than happy to provide you with as many samples as you could possibly want – no judgement from them 😉

For all my Angelenos who aren’t planning a trip to Portland any time soon – don’t worry! Salt & Straw has a location here in LA.

4. HAVE CORNMEALCRUST PIZZA @ DOVE VIVI

Dove Vivi is our friends’ go-to place to take people who are visiting from out of town and, to be honest with you, it would probably be mine too. As my friends put it, “This isn’t the place to come when you’re craving pizza, because it is so much more than just that. It’s a different experience.”

I had never even heard of cornmeal crust pizza, and I didn’t know what to expect. Well, now that I’ve been there I can tell you exactly what to expect, besides obvious deliciousness… The crust is what I would imagine the offspring of a perfectly baked slice of cornbread and a puffy and delicate biscuit would taste like. The slices are reminiscent of a chicago-style deep dish pizza with a wide array of fresh, vegan (or non-vegan) toppings to choose from. I am an avid meat-eater, as you can see from the photo above, but my favorite pizza at Dove Vivi just so happened to be 100% vegan!

5. TRY CUBAN FOOD @ PAMBICHE

Cuban food is ♥ and Pambiche is the place to get it. There are only a few cuban places in Portland but Pambiche surpasses the others by miles. They’ve got got amazingly, complex and traditional zesty flavors. Don’t be scared of all of the options you’re given. You’re pretty much guaranteed to get a killer dish, no matter what you decide to get.

6. EAT @ POK POK PDX

Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, and Chicken Satay – These are all of the dishes that come to mind when one thinks about Thai food and these are all dishes you WON’T find at Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok in Portland.

Pok Pok focuses on the lesser known Northern Thai cuisine, a style of cooking that uses a lot of dried spices and has strong Burmese influences. The smells are funky, the dishes are spicy and the taste is an unbelievably grand reawakening for Thai food in the States.

THE BOOZY BITS ♥

7. GET A FLIGHT @ HAIR OF THE DOG BREWERY

With the incredible amount of craft breweries to choose from in Portland, it’s hard to decide which ones to go to. Hair of the Dog Brewery is a solid choice for anyone that is a fan of barrel-aged beers – it’s their specialty!

FUN FACT: All of their ingredients are sourced from a 350 mile radius from their brewery!

8. TRY THE SALTED CARAMEL STOUT @ BREAKSIDE BREWERY

All I had to hear was that they did a collab with my new favorite creamery, Salt & Straw! Check out my blog post + video review HEREand don’t forget to order the Salted Caramel Stout and their award-winning triple IPA.

9. TAKE A BREWERY TOUR @ WIDMER BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY

I personally love going on brewery tours. I love hearing the story behind the people that have worked their tails off to get us a nice buzz with good, quality product. Did you know the Widmer Brothers are personally responsible for creating the first American-style hefeweizen?

NATURE ♥

10. SPEND SOME TIME OUTDOORS

»LAURELHURST PARK

It’s easy to get caught up frequenting bars & restaurants, but Portland has some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Laurelhurst is a great park nestled in between a great neighborhood in the Sunny Side neighborhood of Portland. Expect to find geese, birds, and people getting their sweat on.

This park gives you an absolutely stunning view of Portland. It is the perfect place to come and have a picnic. Since Portland doesn’t get a lot of sunlight and beautiful weather year round, like Los Angeles does, Portlandians really cherish and take advantage of the beautiful sunny days they do get.

After hearing how many breweries there are in Portland (50+), I was determined to drink my way through as many as I could in the 3 short days I was there. Unfortunately, beer is HEAVY on the belly. So, as much as my mind and mouth were set on drinking my weight in brews, my expanding waistline and tight-fitting pants were refusing.

Alex, the BF, pulling out the beer drinking GUNS.

Now, I’ll be honest. I don’t like hefes. You’re probably asking yourself why I would be going to a place that is KNOWN for their hefes…. Well, first and foremost, I am a lover of food and beverage and I try my absolute best to give everything I taste a fair chance. I figured if I was going to give hefes a chance, I would go to a place that makes award-winning hefeweizens and, most importantly, the place that was single handedly responsible for creating the American-style hefeweizen.

I will report back that my favorite types of beers are still IPAs and Stouts but I am now a lot more open to ordering a hefe every once in a while – especially if it was a beer coming from Widmer. When you come to Portland and visit Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., you can’t leave without signing up to do one of their brewery tours. It only costs $5, you’re paired up with a knowledgable tour guide, and you get to try 4 different brews in a souvenir taster glass you can take home!

I mean, are you looking at this bloody mary here? How could you NOT have this everrrrrrry morning? FACT: Best way to cure a hangover is to drink more alcohol. Okay, maybe that’s not really a fact-fact but I am not going to be the one to disagree with that one. Bottoms up!

If you come to Gravy and you don’t get the gravy, we’re going to have some problems, you and I. It is so darn good! Fair warning – the portions here are MASSIVE so, if possible, share something with a friend!

The biscuits soak up the gravy so beautifully while still maintaining their perfect flakiness. They have two different types of gravy – sausage gravy & veggie gravy (vegetarians rejoice!)! Both are equally delicious, in my opinion. If you’re feeling extra peckish, I highly recommend the chicken fried steak with the sausage gravy and a poached egg on top. #YolkPorn at it’s finest…..

Obviously, I got the fruit as a side instead of the hashbrowns – I gotta be healthy somehow! 😉

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST! Don’t you dare leave Gravy without getting their fry cakes. They taste like a cross between a biscuit + donut, covered in oodles of sugar and perfectly-sized to dip in a little dish filled with maple syrup. Brunch calories don’t count – didn’t ya know?

I hear the line gets crazy when you come here on a weekend. Luckily, the BF & I were visiting our good friends who decided to play hooky on Friday. Skip work on Fridays = no line at Gravy. You’re welcome!

Here’s a picture of the brunch crew trying to hide their food babies.

If the pictures weren’t enough, take a look at the Tastemade video I made down below!Gravy

Portland is the land of micro-brews and trying to decide what breweries deserve your time, when you’re only visiting for a short amount of time, is hard. I *almost* began to let myself get overwhelmed with all of the choices at hand. Instead, I took a trip to Breakside Brewery in Northeast Portland and got myself a nice little buzz. PROBLEM SOLVED ✓…

Portland is known for their craft beer scene, I’m a craft beer lover aaaaaand I just so happened to be in Portland for a few days this month. What’s a girl to do but drank?! Am-i-right? Hair of the Dog Brewery was the first brewery I experienced in Portland and I am happy to report back that it was a great start to a wonderful trip. Did you know Portland is home to 50+ breweries? Let that sink in. I think it’s safe to say they’ve rightfully earned the nickname, “Beervana”.

Hair of the Dog Brewery is in the Industrial District of Portland, OR.

Now, while I didn’t get a chance to visit every.single.brewery in the short 3 days I spent in Portland, I did try to visit at least one a day! AND I managed to shoot Tastemade video reviews at THREE of them!